I have found it hard to write recently. But I also don’t know how to start this part of the story so maybe a part of me has been putting it off. When I started writing this blog I thought that this was going to be a story of struggle but eventual triumph. I thought that I had life all figured out and that I was going to write a lovely ending tied up in a bow. I would have my ending of the Paradise video where the Elephant finds its tribe and loves life. What I have discovered, is that life is full of twists and turns. The goal is to be able to live a happy and fulfilled life along with the dips on the road and to recognise that they are just that, dips, and not permanent situations. I was doing really well with my Narcolepsy management but recently I have felt like I’m going backwards. I am still not over the fact that I can’t drive at the moment. It’s a helpless feeling, I know I will get there again but the path to doing so feels like Everest right now. I’m also hyper sensitive to the fact that I turn 30 this year. The feeling of expectation of where I ‘should’ be weighs heavy on my shoulders. Yes I should be grateful and comparison is the thief of joy etc etc. But all I feel is raw anger. Like I’m in a bad dream that I can’t get out of. I reflect on the years lost to sleep and I want to fill them with achievements instead. I did achieve, but not in the way I wanted.
Tag: laparotomy
Recovering on the Gynae Ward Post Surgery
Hello!
I haven’t posted in a while for various reasons. Going on new medication, getting used to side effects and coming off said medication cold turkey was a rough time. I wasn’t myself and frankly I was horrified by both my physical and mental symptoms. I still don’t think I’m out of the woods yet but I will get there.
I was put on Venlafaxine in February, it’s an SNRI medication which in my case was prescribed to try and suppress my REM sleep. This was meant to help reduce my nightmares and I trialled it for 5 weeks. Unfortunately, it made me feel awful and I had to stop taking it. I had nausea during the day and my excessive daytime sleepiness was even worse. I was so disappointed. I felt like it was such a waste of time and that I was going backwards instead of forward. When my sleep consultant contacted me he also decided that my excessive daytime sleepiness was at a level that made it unsafe for me to drive. This was another blow and I’ll be honest, it took me a wee while to dig myself out of the dark hole it put me in. I’m still afraid that I might slip and fall back down there and I am slowly working towards managing the beast again. I had also completely lost my funny bone which discouraged me from writing because I couldn’t string a sentence together much less write a blog post or make it entertaining.
Awake & Asleep in HDU
I will try and keep this a little entertaining and not too factual but post-op recovery just isn’t jazzy. It’s the shock of being in hospital and its frankly painful. So many people go through it every single day. Surgeons complete these surgeries every single day and it’s so regular for them but to me it was HUGE. It was such a shock to the system – literally. I will try and describe how I felt that day without traumatising or scaring anyone too much…